WRVHS Receives Historical Records Grant

White River Valley Historical Society staffers Leslie Wyman and Dustan Ingenthron review some of the items from the Jerry and Opal Gideon Family Collection prior to developing finding aids and storing in acid-free containers.

Researchers and visitors to the White River Valley Historical Society will soon be able to view many of the archival collections held by the 51-year-old organization, thanks to a grant awarded as part of the 2013–2014 Missouri Historical Records Grant Program.

The grant funds for “Archival Collection Care 2013” will provide shelving, archival-quality storage boxes, files, and photograph sleeves to accommodate thousands of original images, as well as the document collections of several residents of the area, including Commissioner L.W. Fields from the Ray Russell collection, author Viola Hartman, newspaper publisher/Missouri state legislator William E. Freeland, and N-Bar-K Ranch owner and architect of the 1950s courthouse, Volney Poulson. Also included in the project are some of the items of the impressive Jerry and Opal Gideon Family collection, comprised of hundreds of historically-significant photographs, documents, and ledgers collected by the family over many years. While the majority of the Society’s collection of civic organizational archives were indexed and made public with a similar grant in 2011, the records of the YENAT Study Club—all 74 years—will be processed as part of the current project.

Currently, the WRVHS archival volunteers are also involved in the preservation of Taney County court documents by indexing and scanning them, safeguarding the fragile original items while making the images available to Society visitors on the county’s “Docuware” system. To assist with any of the archival projects ongoing at the WRVHS, call 417-546-2210, or email info@wrvhs.org for more information.

The “Archival Collection Care 2013” project grant is supported by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission and is administered by the Missouri State Archives, a division of the Office of Secretary of State, on behalf of the Missouri Historical Records Advisory Board. Any views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the NHPRC.